SCOTS still love their Irn-Bru despite a change to the sugar percentage, new figures show.
Creator AG Barr has posted a year of rising sales as it shrugged off the sugar tax and a host of other challenges.
Revenue grew by 5.6 per cent to £279 million at the Scottish soft drinks firm, which also makes Rubicon and Tizer.
The company posted a pre-tax profit of £44.5 million for the year to January 26, down from £44.9 million. The figure takes into account a one-off pension service charge of £700,000.
Stripping out exceptional items, profits were up 2.5 per cent to £45.2 million.
AG Barr said the results were "all the more pleasing" given the Government's sugar levy, which has hit the entire soft drinks industry.
Read more: Shopkeeper threatened with knife in Uddingston robbery bid
It also had to contend with carbon dioxide shortages during the summer heatwave, the Beast from the East snow disruption, and a number of business failures and ongoing customer credit risks.
The firm revamped Irn-Bru and other drinks ranges to reduce the sugar content ahead of the launch of the new UK soft drinks sugar tax last April.
AG Barr stopped making the original full-sugar version last January - but the move prompted a backlash among Irn-Bru loyalists.
The company incurred £1.4 million of costs as part of its ongoing sugar reduction and reformulation programme, with Irn-Bru sugar-free variants now accounting for 40 per cent of the total brand.
Read more: Hunt for thugs who broke into pensioner's homes in West Dunbartonshire
Boss Roger White said: "At the outset of 2018 we set out a clear strategy and specific actions which we believed were required to deliver continued financial success during what we forecast to be a year of significant changes across our industry.
"I am pleased to report we have delivered another strong financial performance having adapted well to both the circumstances we anticipated and those which were less expected.
"It is with this backdrop in mind that I emphasise the flexibility and strength of our business model, people and brands, all of which continue to deliver consistently."
He added that, while uncertainty across the UK economy is likely to prevail for the "foreseeable future", the company is "fit for purpose and resilient".
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel